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Dec 21, 07 - 04:50 pm Comment from: coolfactor

Ah.... the nerve....

Those MicroDicks!

Dec 21, 07 - 04:54 pm Comment from: TowerTone

Does Microsoft patent lies?

Dec 21, 07 - 05:02 pm Comment from: Zune Tang®

That's what I'm talking about! Once again Microsoft leaves Apple in the dust with awesome customer-focused innovation. I can't help but laugh as this incredible technical acheivement must have Cupertino scrambling. Happy Holidays, Apple!

What are you MAC lemmings gonna do with those crappy video I-PODs now?

Your potential. Our passion.™

Shouldn't that be

Your potential. Our prisoner.™

I hate the fact that I can't fast forward certain parts of my DVD's.
Now we will be forced to watch ads from this stupid microsoft idea?

Please somebody, make a DVD player that we FULLY own and control and also come up with a hack or system to skip those ads.

Dec 21, 07 - 05:07 pm Comment from: REALTORben

Think about this....

Let's say your perusing iTunes looking for the latest episode of your favorite (Non-NBC) TV Show. You have 2 options. You can pay $1.99 (or as some execs (NBC) would like to see, $4.99) for the episode....

...or you can download a free episode. It won't cost you anything. All you have to know is that this episode has commercial's inside. You can't fast forward them when they start playing.

I can think of a few instances when I wouldn't mind watching some commercials and getting the episode for free. This way, if the episode was a P.O.S., then I only wasted my time, not my time and my money.

IF THAT is what Microsoft is trying to do, then I don't have a problem with it. But if they are thinking of making you pay to download the video AND force you to watch the advertisements, well, that's just a big hunk of steaming fresh cow doody.

Next they'll have an eye tracker to ensure that you actually watch the ad.

Dec 21, 07 - 05:10 pm Comment from: tclash

Give the people what they want!

Dec 21, 07 - 05:16 pm Comment from: Fred Mertz

REALTORben,

Time is money, at least where I come from.

Time is my most precious commodity.

Dec 21, 07 - 05:17 pm Comment from: Galloway

@REALTORben

Or I can download the vid from BitTorrent for nothing. If your last fear is true then I'd sure as heck rather do that.

Yum, DRM and commercials. my favorites.

Microlimp seems to have forgotten that with this Patent they are screwing with the very consumers that are the real source of their revenue. If the consumer base votes en masse against them then it does not matter how many corporates of governments step in they are done and dusted, finito, shut down, out of business, etc.

People are fed up with ads. That is probably the single most important factor behind the success of iTunes. I absolutely refuse to pay for the privilege of someone trying to sell me something. How long would a car company last if you had to pay a fee just to take a car for a test drive or to read a brochure or even to look at a billboard.

I guess what Redmond needs is one of those humungous asteroids to free them from Microlinp's impotent slavery

Dec 21, 07 - 05:19 pm Comment from: Galloway

@Mark

Amen, brother.

And MacroAholes sounds like a proper name to me.

tell me you can't see amazon doing a similar thing a few years down the track with Kindle? Sure, they have a need for revenue to fund further 'product' development, but given that most people zone out or channel surf during ads anyway, you'd think they'd understand that we DON'T like advertising. I'd rather pay for none.

I hate microsh*t and everything they stand for. In what should have been an age of enlightenment (the pioneers like woz must shake their heads in disbelief at what it has become), we few end up huddled around small patches of light in an ever deepending pall that microsh*t up there in Mordor (redmond) insists on making more pervasive and malignant (if possible). 25 years of going nowhere because of microsh*t. Everything they touch turns to sh*t.

Dec 21, 07 - 05:29 pm Comment from: Tommy Boy

Ballmer's wife voted for Macrosoft.

Dec 21, 07 - 05:30 pm Comment from: Mac-nugget

You can always go to the bathroom or shut your eyes.

Dec 21, 07 - 05:31 pm Comment from: ron

Microbes. Where's the penicillin.

When reached for comment, a Microsoft spokesman said, " At Microsoft, we are focused on the customer. Of course by 'customer' I mean the TV and movie studios, not the general public. However, we expect that the embedded advertising will enhance the viewing experience for everyone."

At least it is M$ doing this... that means the DRM will be broken before it is ever implemented.

All viewers will be required to register their eyelid implanted RFIDs with the player to view the content and if the player detects they have left the room, or even closed their eyes or looked away, it will pause until their attention is back on the ads.

Dec 21, 07 - 06:03 pm Comment from: January 24, 1984

DVD slides in, message appears:

"There will be a ten question advertiser's quiz embedded somewhere near the end of this episode. If you miss more than four, your DVD player will destruct."

Brought to you by Imperial Programming.

Dec 21, 07 - 06:17 pm Comment from: iamdj

@ZuneTang:

Hey Zunney, glad you got your blast off one more time before the new year.

Whoo Hoo! And we all know how much consumers love commercials.

Dec 21, 07 - 06:28 pm Comment from: Not Bill

A difference between M$ and Apple is as fundimental as "Whos computer is it?" Who is to have the power to direct its actions?

You can pay with money or with wasted time and frustration. Many people are willing to pay more to watch something not laced with DRM/unavoidable commercials. I know I am.

One of the great things about Cable TV series (e.g. "Six Feet Under," "The Sopranos," "Big Love," "Weeds"...) is the pleasure of watching an entire episode without a commercial. Sure, you pay up front in the form of your monthly cable bill, but millions of people seem to have no problem doing so. Also, the creator/distributor has more control over content because he is not beholden to corporate interests who bow to various political ideologies.

Everything Microsoft has done or created (i.e., copied) during the last few years seems to hasten its own downfall. This is just another example. Microsoft might cater to the entertainment corporations, but those corporations are ultimately beholden to the consumer for their profits. Anger consumers and those profits will vanish. This is something Apple seems to understand more than any other company.

Apple stockholders should be applauding any attempt by Microsoft to further piss off the consumer.

Dec 21, 07 - 06:45 pm Comment from: MacSmiley

PBS! PBS! PBS! PBS! PBS! PBS! Become a member, send in your pledge. Always no interruption, and no real commercials beyond the corporate supporter stuff.

Dec 21, 07 - 07:01 pm Comment from: Ferf Muckmeyer

My 2nd and 3rd favorites are MicroAholes and MicroDicks.

But my very favorite is just simply "MicroShit".

Your potential. Our Pishin'.

Microsoft's version of improving your life.

1. Taking away your freedom to chose.
2. Taking away your freedom to chose.
3. and finally: Taking away your freedom to chose.

Not letting me fast-foreword through a digital file isn't an improvement in the movie/television experience. but... what do they care. They are trying to think of ANYTHING that will make them look good to the digital video industry. How about a percentage of every copy of Vista sold, that a viewer could be watching with, sent to every movie production company?.

A quote from the "Young Ones": Rick: "So, why don't you just stick your tongue right down the back of his trousers, Neal"

Dec 21, 07 - 07:21 pm Comment from: Gandalf

Unfortunately another side effect of corporations giving us what they think we want for free (ie taking some of our time and selling it to other corporations and government) and not allowing us to watch what we want is the increasing incidence of product placement. More and more TV shows and movies are funded in part by product placement taking artistic integrity away from the creators. TPTB are desperate to keep eyeballs on screens that they can pump propaganda out to.

Similar has already happened to a great extent in academia, as taxpayer funded research declines and corporations fund education what we get to read reflects the opinions of the funder, research in to new drugs reflects the interests of the sponsor, history reflects the corporations that benefit (not that the history we all 'know' is in any way accurate anyhow but that's another story).

Microsoft, You're Potential, Apple's Current

- that's shocking

Dec 21, 07 - 07:27 pm Comment from: LinuxGuyAndMacProdigalSon

As a holder of AAPL shares, I thank Microsoft. You can hardly come up with a better way to assure that Apple will win the war for the center of home entertainment.

Dec 21, 07 - 07:29 pm Comment from: 84 Mac Guy

Let us summarize:

Microsoft files patents for technology that requires us to watch commercials.

Apple files patents for innovative technologies that make us more productive.

Why the f___ is Microsoft still in business. Are consumers really that stupid!!!

I cant stand being forced to watch advertising! It makes me resent the product or service being promoted for associating with these horrible tactics.

Make your advertising innovative, entertaining and viral so people want to watch and interact with it! (i.e. The Burger King "<div align="right">Simpsonize Me" campaign by German agency Cortona.) (This is just an example of an innovative marketing IDEA... Don't tear me to shreds if you personally didn't like how it worked etc.... frankly I don't care) ... Forcing ad banter into peoples web experience is a poor strategy for producing loyalty to a brand. It's comparable to pollution! Hell, it IS pollution.

MacroSloth sucks.

I am not interested in commercials unless they are ones my company created.

I do enjoy to review clever, funny and inspirational commercials and find they can be entertaining. However, I despise this idea to be force feed advertising.

Being in the industry I honestly I feel consumers are smarter and better informed these days. This is an intrusion of my time.

Bad MS very BAD... just like HD-DVD technology... Blu-Ray is better... but for me regular DVD is just fine. I will not reinvest in bettered movies purchased for these newer copies. Just not worth it.


Dougless

Dec 21, 07 - 08:14 pm Comment from: Toasty

How do you exactly chapterize something that has spots you cant scrub over? What if im watching an hour show and i have to watch the second half later on? do i have to watch every commercial before i can get back to my last place in the video?

Dec 21, 07 - 08:26 pm Comment from: Hm...

@ 84 Mac Guy

"Why the f___ is Microsoft still in business. Are consumers really that stupid!!!"

In a word, Yes. Just take a look around: Look at network TV, look who makes the largest salaries in the country, look at who educates the K-6'ers, look at our politicians and parties. And last of all look at Windows' market share.

PBS has no interuptions! Only four months+ out of every year-December being one of them. There is a smaller percentage of content to airtime on PBS than there is on commercial TV!

Dec 21, 07 - 08:41 pm Comment from: clunker

"Microsoft is attempting to secure a patent for technology that would prevent users from skipping ads in downloaded videos

People, don't panic.

First, it's just a patent. Give MS 10 years to actually implement it (if they're still in business by then).

Second, like any MS technology it'll be hacked. Expect the work-arounds to be widely available before the first videos ever appear.

And third, if it does gain traction among slimeball studios, that makes just one more reason to use iTunes video instead. Nobody wants more MS crap.

Dec 21, 07 - 08:47 pm Comment from: ken1w

Oh, great. A patent for forcing me to watch something I don't want to watch. Will Microsoft's innovations never cease...?

Dec 21, 07 - 09:30 pm Comment from: TowerTone

Cool! Everyone will get to see the commercials for all the new Apple gear next year!!!

did someone already say that?

Dec 21, 07 - 09:34 pm Comment from: silverhawk

Mac users don't have to worry about it because it won't on a Mac, windows only.

Oh, great. A patent for forcing me to watch something I don't want to watch. Will Microsoft's innovations never cease...?

This goes back to at least Clippy. MS just never bothered to patent it.

You know, I may take some heat, but I am going to give Microsoft a pass on this (for now). The entire TV and radio business were based upon providing free content to users in exchange for having to sit through commercials, and it worked well for 50 years.

I think all of these radio and television companies putting things online could learn a lot from their own history! While I don't think there needs to be a DRM for this, in fact it would save companies from needing DRM. Think about it. If NBC puts episodes of the office out into the wild with ads in the video they could have the advertisers pay for the content and distribution and they wouldn't need to spend money fighting piracy.

@ Drunk Cheney

A quote from the "Young Ones": Rick: "So, why don't you just stick your tongue right down the back of his trousers, Neal"

isn't that spelled with a silent P?

Dec 22, 07 - 04:49 am Comment from: Macaday

That's nothing....

I am working on a patent that makes sure you die instantly if you try to move away from your TV during commercials...

That should do it!

Funny how Microsoft make loads of promises about the supposed great products -read vapourware- they are going to launch. But the rotten ones like this just happen.

Dec 22, 07 - 07:05 am Comment from: Connor MacBook

Only Microsoft would patent something that customers don't want.

Dec 22, 07 - 08:49 am Comment from: Hm...

@ Connor MacBook

You misinterpret who the customers of M$ are: it's *not* the consumer - never has been. M$ new "customer" is the MPAA and the RIAA. TO M$, we are merely "end-users" who are supposed to provide an unedning revenue stream.

Dec 22, 07 - 09:49 am Comment from: ron

"PBS! PBS! PBS! PBS! PBS! PBS! Become a member, send in your pledge. Always no interruption, and no real commercials beyond the corporate supporter stuff."

There was a time when there were NO commercials on the lib PBS. Now there are 5 minutes every hour.
So I seldom watch the Putin Barbra Streisand..

Ads everywhere? like MDN?
MDN has a lot of ads.
A lot.
I don't like loading it in my iPhone because it takes forever
because of
ADS ADS ADS
MDN is hypocritical.

MDN even runs ads for VISTA - that's how hypocritical it is.

Dec 22, 07 - 11:44 am Comment from: DogGone

This is going to end up with a format war. Those like Apple who want to provide content with ease of use and reasonable freedom and those like M$ would want to limit what you can do to maximize profit potential.

It may end up with users refusing to play M$'s games anymore or the content providers shutting out the Apple alternative for fear of change.

Microsoft is just a government conglomerate making sure that users have less choice and have to pay more for things they can already get for less elsewhere.

Losers, Zung Tang gets paid to post on MacDaily news.